Shah Rukh Khan may call himself King Khan [Images] but Akshay Kumar [Images] feels that the real king of Bollywood is Amitabh Bachchan [Images].
"In my opinion, the real king of Bollywood is Amitabh Bachchan," Akshay said, at an event to promote his new film, Singh is Kinng [Images]. "He has been in the industry for the last 40 years while we have been here for 15 years only. To become a king, you don't need money and power. You must have positive energy and Mr Bachchan has that."
"I have done seven films with Amitji and he is so humble and down-to-earth," Akshay continued. "If a controversy erupts from my statement, I don't mind. I really feel he is the king of our industry."
Akshay seemed to gel very well with Amitabh Bachchan after the Unforgettable tour, where they performed together in Toronto.
"My competition is with newcomers, not with people of my age group," Akshay went on to say, referring to the three Khans.
When a reporter congratulated him on making Katrina Kaif's [Images] career a success, Akshay replied, "Why are you singling her out? You can say she made me successful. I have done hit films with her, as also with [producer] Vipul Shah and colleague Javed Jaffrey [Images], with whom I have done films earlier. Filmmaking is all about teamwork and we are all responsible when a film clicks."
Singh is Kinng is set to release with a record number of 1,800 prints on August 8. The last big film to release a large number of prints was Om Shanti Om [Images] with 1,500 prints last November.